Bowmore Distillery
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bowmore | ||
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| Region: Islay | ||
| Owner: | Suntory | |
| Founded: | 1779 | |
| Status: | Operational | |
| Water Source: | River Laggan, Islay | |
| No. of Stills: | 2 wash 2 spirit |
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| Capacity: | 1,700,000 L | |
| Bowmore | ||
| Age(s): | Legend 12-year-old 15-year-old 18-year-old 25-year-old |
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| Cask Type(s): | American Oak (86%) Sherry (14%) |
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Bowmore (pronounced "Boh-more") is a distillery that produces scotch whisky on the isle of Islay, an island of the Inner Hebrides.[1] The distillery, which lies on the South Eastern shore of Loch Indaal, is one of the oldest in Scotland, having been established in 1779.[1] The distillery is owned by Morrison Bowmore Distillers Ltd, a holding company owned by Japanese drinks company Suntory. Morrison Bowmore also own the Auchentoshan and Glen Garioch distilleries and produces the McClelland's Single Malt range of bottlings.[1]
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[edit] History
The Bowmore Distillery was allegedly established in 1779 by a local merchant, John P Simpson, before passing into the ownership of the Mutter family, a family of German descent.[1] James Mutter, head of the family also had farming interests and was Vice Consul representing the Ottoman Empire, Portugal and Brazil through their Glasgow consulates.[1] There are no records that pinpoint the date Mutter acquired the distillery from Simpson. Mutter would introduce a number of innovative processes to the distillery during his tenure, and he even had a small iron steam ship built to import barley and coal from the mainland, and to export the whisky to Glasgow.[1] A bottle of Bowmore Single Malt sold at auction during September 2007 for £29,400.[2]
The distillery was bought from the Mutter family during 1925 by J.B. Sheriff & Co and remained under their ownership before being purchased by Inverness based William Grigor & Son, Ltd. in 1950.[1]
The distillery, like most in Scotland, was mothballed during the World Wars, with the Bowmore Distillery hosting the RAF Coastal Command for much of World War II, Coastal Command operated flying boats from Loch Indaal on Anti-submarine warfare missions.[1]
Stanley P Morrison and James Howat formed Stanley P. Morrison Ltd. in 1951, and this company, formed Morrison's Bowmore Distillery, Ltd. in 1963 in order to takeover the Bowmore Distillery. Stanley P. Morrison died in 1971 and control of the companies passed to James Howat and his family.[1] The company name has changed slightly and following minor restructuring, the distillery is now owned by Morrison Bowmore Distillers Ltd., which is ultimately owned by the Japanese distiller Suntory, following their takeover of Morrison Bowmore Distillers Ltd., during 1994. Suntory had previously been a shareholder in Morrison Bowmore for several years.[3]
[edit] Production
Bowmore Distillery sources as much barley as possible from on the island of Islay, however there are insufficient quantities produced to satisfy the distillery's demand, and barley is also imported from the mainland. The distillery retains a traditional floor malting but this also lacks sufficient capacity and the barley imported from the mainland is normally already malted.[1][3]
The distillery has an annual capacity of 2,000,000 litres, with fermentation undertaken in traditional wooden washbacks, before the liquid is passed through 2 wash stills and then through 2 spirit stills.[3][4]
The waste heat from the distillation process goes to heat a nearby public swimming pool which was built in one of the distilleries former warehouses.[4][5]
Morrison Bowmore bottles all whisky produced at Bowmore Distillery and their other distilleries at a facility in Springburn, Glasgow.[6]
[edit] Awards
- Distiller of the Year 2000, 2002, 2003[7]
- Best of Show (multiple years multiple awards)[7]
- Double Gold (multiple years multiple awards)[7]
Bowmore has won more awards than any other single malt scotch whisky.[7]
[edit] Products
Standard Range[8]
- Bowmore Legend
- Bowmore 12 Year Old
- Bowmore 15 Year Old
- Bowmore 18 Year Old
- Bowmore 25 Year Old
Travel Retail[8]
- Bowmore Surf
- Bowmore 12 Years Enigma
- Bowmore 15 Years Mariner
- Bowmore 17 Year Old
- Bowmore Cask Strength
USA Range[9]
- Bowmore 12 Year Old
- Bowmore 15 Year Old
- Bowmore 17 Year Old
- Bowmore 25 Year Old
- Bowmore 30 Year Old
- Bowmore Cask
- Bowmore Dawn
- Bowmore Dusk
- Bowmore Darker
- Bowmore Legend
Bowmore also produce a number of special edition bottlings and market specific bottlings. Independent bottlings are also readily available.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Morrice, Philip. The Schweppes Guide To Scotch. Sherborne, Dorest, England: Alphabooks, 340-342. ISBN 0 906670 99 2.
- ^ "Rare Scotch whisky tops world record auction price", Agence France-Presse, Google, 2007-09-28. Retrieved on 2007-10-10.
- ^ a b c Milroy, Wallace. The Original Malt Whisky Almanac - A Taster's Guide. Glasgow, Scotland: Neil Wilson Publishing, 107. ISBN 978-1897784686.
- ^ a b Bowmore Distillery - The Distilleries of Scotland. scotchwhisky.net. Retrieved on 2007-10-10.
- ^ Bowmore - Isle of Islay administrative capital. Retrieved on 2007-10-10.
- ^ House of Commons - Scottish Affairs - Minutes of Evidence. Hansard. Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (2004-04-28). Retrieved on 2007-10-10.
- ^ a b c d Bowmore Scotch. bowmorescotch.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-10.
- ^ a b Product Range - Bowmore Single Malt Scotch Whisky. bowmore.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-10-10.
- ^ Product Range - Bowmore Scotch. bowmorescotch.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-10.
[edit] External links
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